Google Photos To Gain 'Favorites' And 'Like' Features

Google has announced that it is adding the ability to add photos as your “favorites” and an option to “like” photos in Google Photos. A star-shaped button will be used for the "favorites" feature and a heart-shaped button will be used for the "like" feature.

Favorites on Google PhotosGoogle

The "favorites" feature will appear in photos within your photo library. Tapping on the star button on a photo will add it to a Favorites album. And the Favorites album will be created when you "star" your first image.

While the "favorites" feature seems subtle, it could be a big deal for Google Photos users that have tens of thousands of photos and videos backed up to the service because it could potentially be a time-consuming process to quickly find specific photos. This feature is expected to arrive next week.

Likes feature on Google PhotosGoogle

The “like” feature will only appear on photos and albums that are shared with you. This is a way of giving feedback about photos and it makes the experience similar to Instagram. The “like” button will not appear on photos and albums that are not shared.

After a user "likes" a photo, the creator of the shared album and other users who have joined it will likely receive some form of notification. To add a photo that you "like" to your Favorites album, you will have to add it to your Library first and then press the "star" button.

There are a number of other exciting features coming to Google Photos -- which were announced at Google I/O earlier this year. For example, Google is adding the ability to colorize old images using artificial intelligence with just one tap. This tool essentially guesses what colors should be used for black-and-white photos.

And soon there will be a color pop feature that converts the background to black-and-white while keeping the subject in color. Plus Google Photos will soon gain “Suggested Actions” features such as a recommendation to convert a photo of a document into a PDF that is easier to read.

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